The Word Made Effectual

An exposition of the Westminster Shorter Catechism about the preaching of God’s Word

written by the English Puritan, James Fisher

12.  “By whom is the word of God to be preached?”
“Only by such as are sufficiently gifted, Mal. 2:7, and also duly approved and called to that office, Rom. 10:15; I Tim. 4:14.”

13.  Who are they that are sufficiently gifted?
They are such as are not only of a blameless moral walk, and “have a good report of them that are without,” I Tim. 3:7: but likewise such as have a competent stock of human literature, Tit. 1:9; and are, in the judgment of charity, reputed to be pious and religious men, 2 Tim. 1:5.

14.  What is it to be duly approved and called to that office?
It is not only to be approved by the presbytery, who have the sole power of trying the ministerial qualifications, and of ordination to that office, I Tim. 4:14; but likewise to have the call and consent of the people, who are to be under the pastoral inspection and charge, Acts 1:23, and 14:23.

15. “How is the word of God to be preached by those that are called thereunto?”
They are to preach sound doctrine “diligently, plainly, faithfully, wisely, zealously, and sincerely.”

16.  What are we to understand by sound doctrine?
The whole system of divine truth, contained in the holy scriptures, or evidently deducible from it; particularly whatever has the greatest tendency to depreciate self, and to exalt Christ, who ought to be the main and leading subject of all gospel-preaching, 2 Cor. 4:5.

17.  What is it to preach sound doctrine diligently?
It is to be instant “in season, and out of season,” 2 Tim. 4:2 embracing every opportunity of doing good to souls; and watching for them, “as they that must give account,”Heb. 13:17.

18.  What is it to preach plainly?
It is to essay it, “not in enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power,” I Cor. 2:4.

19.  What is it to preach the word faithfully?
It is a “making known the whole counsel of God,” (or at least a not shunning to do so), Acts 20:27.

20.  When may ministers be said to preach wisely?
When in studying, or preaching, they are wholly taken up in applying themselves to the necessities and capacities of the hearers,” Luke 12:42; I Cor. 3:2.

21.  When do they preach the word zealously?
When they do it “with fervent love to God, and the souls of his people,” 2 Cor. 5:14, and 12:15.

22.  How is the word preached sincerely?
When there is an “aiming at God’s glory,” and his people’s conversion, edification, and salvation, I Thess. 2:4; I Cor. 9:22, I Tim. 4:16.”

23.  Who is it that makes the reading and preaching of the word effectual to salvation?
THE SPIRIT OF GOD, I Cor. 2:11 – “The things of God knoweth no man, but the SPIRIT of God.”

24.  How does he make them effectual?
By accompanying them with his divine power upon the soul, Rom. 1:16.

25.  Of what is it that the Spirit of God makes the reading and preaching of the word an effectual means?
He makes them an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, unto Salvation.

26.  Does the Spirit make more frequent and ordinary use of the reading, or of the preaching of the word, for these valuable ends?
He makes more frequent and ordinary use of the preaching of the word; and therefore there is and ESPECIALLY prefixed to it in the answer.

27.  How do you prove, that the preaching of the word is honoured as the most ordinary means?
From express scripture testimony to this purpose, Acts 4:4 – “Many of them which heard the word believed;” chap. 11:20-21- “And some of them – spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.  And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.”

28.  May not people be more edified in reading good sermons at home, than in hearing from the pulpit, such as are not perhaps, so well digested?
If they are in health, and not necessarily detained from the public ordinances, they have no ground to expect any real and saving benefit to their souls in the neglect of hearing the word preached: because it pleases “God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe,” I Cor. 1:21; and “faith cometh by HEARING” Rom. 10:17.

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Pauline Images of a Christian Leader

by D. Edmond Hiebert

[D. Edmund Hiebert, Professor of New Testament, Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Fresno, California.]

When seeking to trace the biblical portrayal of the qualities of Christian leadership, one’s thoughts naturally turn to the Apostle Paul, one of the most effective leaders in the entire history of the Christian church. The Scriptures record the challenging example of his own grand achievements, while his epistles contain ample information concerning his concept of the character and work of a Christian leader. His views of the nature and function of the Christian leader are delineated especially in the pastoral Epistles. These letters were directed to Timothy and Titus who, when Paul wrote, occupied important leadership positions in the churches.

Although the common designation “the pastoral Epistles” is somewhat misleading, these letters do offer valuable guidance to men in the pastoral office. But since neither Timothy nor Titus were pastors (much less bishops) in the modern sense of that term, it is fully justifiable to use these letters in seeking to ascertain the qualifications of leaders who may not be directly involved in the pastoral office. In the Lord’s work the precise office does not materially alter the needed qualifications of those engaged in varied types of Christian service. (This statement may be supported by comparing the similarity of the qualifications for bishops and deacons in 1 Timothy 3:1–3.)

The purpose of this article is to discover the biblical qualifications for leadership positions in the Christian church. This goal is attempted through an exegetical study of the seven images of the Christian leader which Paul employs in the second chapter of his last letter, 2 Timothy {2 Tim 2}.

A TEACHER

“And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2).

Though the noun “teacher” does not appear in this verse {2 Tim 2:2}, the contents of the verse {2 Tim 2:2} as well as the infinitive…“to teach” unmistakably establish the fact that Paul has the image of a teacher in mind. The fact that this image stands first in Paul’s series indicates his recognition of the importance of the teaching function in the furtherance of the Christian faith. It was part of his own apostolic work in relation to the gospel (2 Tim 1:11). In both of his epistles to Timothy, Paul stipulated that the Christian worker must be “able to teach” (1 Tim 3:2; 2 Tim 2:24).

The Christian teacher must first be a diligent student, having faithfully received and assimilated the instruction given him. This is implied in Paul’s words, “the things which you have heard from me.” The words …“from me” reminded Timothy of the authoritative source of the instruction he had received. The things he had heard from Paul are best taken as referring to the totality of the preaching and teaching he had listened to on numerous occasions. And he had heard these things set forth by Paul… “in the presence of many witnesses”. These witnesses not only confirmed that Paul had taught these things, but they also bore witness with Paul that it was indeed the truth of God which he had proclaimed. Timothy’s confidence in his teachers had confirmed his own conviction that these things were indeed the truth of God (2 Tim 3:14–15).

The mention of these many witnesses who had heard Paul’s teaching indicates that the teachings which Timothy had received from Paul were not esoteric doctrines which were taught only to an inner circle of select followers. The Gnostic teachers, whose heretical teachings were beginning to trouble the church, claimed to possess such secret apostolic traditions on which they based their own dissenting views. But the orthodox church denied the existence of such esoteric teachings and insisted that Christian teachings were public and open to all believers alike. The Christian leaders emphatically repudiated the Gnostic claims to teachings which had been privately communicated to the believers. There is nothing secret and restrictive about the message which the Christian teacher is to communicate. The gospel is a precious revelation from God which is intended for and suitable to all. The pastoral Epistles place strong emphasis on the need for sound doctrine (1 Tim 1:10; 2 Tim 1:13; 4:3 {1 Tim 4:3}; Titus 1:9–13; 2:1 {Titus 2:1}). Any teacher who brings a contrary message is to be rejected.

Timothy’s diligence as a student qualified him to be a teacher of new workers. The things he learned, Paul wrote, “these entrust to faithful men.” The word …“these”; literally, “these things,” stressed that he was to teach others the message he himself had been taught. His duty was not to develop a new and different teaching but faithfully to transmit the message received. According to 2 Timothy 1:14, that message is …“the treasure”; literally “the good deposit”, which had been entrusted to Timothy. Any message contrary to that precious treasure cannot be the true message. Lenski aptly remarks, “The apostle evidently did not expect the future teachers of the Church to produce new or different teaching. The Gospel is changeless in all ages.”

This changeless gospel message Timothy must “entrust to faithful men.” The verb…“entrust” carries the picture of a precious treasure being deposited as a trust into the hands of other persons. Those to be entrusted with the message must be “faithful” persons, reliable and trustworthy. They must be individuals “who will not swerve aside because of fear or favor, who will not compromise with the spirit of the age through which they are passing.” They must not handle the message recklessly.

Those taught must be “able to teach others also.” The essential task of Timothy was the multiplication of gospel workers. The very nature of Christianity demands that it be propagated, and this demands trained workers who, having been entrusted with the divine message, are able and willing to pass it on to others. “Others”… certainly includes the officially appointed teachers in the churches but is not restricted to them. These others in turn are to communicate the message to still others. “The torch of heavenly light must be transmitted unquenched from one generation to another.”

Here is the picture of Christianity being perpetuated through a successful teaching ministry, maintaining from age to age the apostolic message in faith and practice. This is true “apostolic succession.” The faithful Christian teacher is thus, as Barclay observes, “a link in the living chain which stretches unbroken from this present moment back to Jesus Christ.” As a teacher of the gospel the Christian leader stands in a glorious tradition; he has a tremendous responsibility to be true to the redemptive message of God which has been entrusted to him.

This first Pauline image of the Christian leader sets forth at least three essential qualities: (1) He must be a diligent student of the biblical message and be thoroughly conversant with its teachings. (2) He must be loyal and faithful to the divine message entrusted to God’s church. (3) He must be actively involved in the training and equipping of additional workers, a step essential to the successful progress of the church.

A SOLDIER

“Stiffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier” (2 Tim 2:3–4).

The soldier image was a favorite with the Apostle Paul and its use was widespread in the early church. While the figure may be applied to all Christians, Paul felt it especially appropriate in setting before Timothy the demands on the Christian leader.

The exhortation, “suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus,” calls on Timothy to assume a willing attitude of readiness to share the hardship involved in being a Christian leader. Not always is the Christian soldier called on to endure hardship, but as a “good soldier of Christ Jesus” he must be willing and ready to do so, since he has pledged undivided loyalty to his Savior and Lord.

However, as a good soldier he knows that he is not alone in the Lord’s battle; he has joined “the company of the committed,” that noble band of soldiers united under the banner of their victorious Leader. Paul indicates this fellowship in suffering by his use of the compound verb… which means “to suffer ill-treatment with.” Kelly renders it, “Take your share of rough treatment.” The term expresses the fact that the work of the Christian leader is not an easy, self-indulgent activity. Rather, as Plummer remarks, it “involves self-sacrifice, endurance, discipline, vigilance, obedience, ready co-operation with others, sympathy, enthusiasm, loyalty.” A willingness to accept such an assignment is the sure mark of a dedicated man.

Paul also notes that the position of the soldier demands detachment from all that would hinder his wholehearted obedience to the call of his commander (v. 4 {2 Tim 2:4}). The words “no soldier in active service” (more literally, “no one soldiering”) picture the soldier, not on furlough or in winter quarters, but on active duty in the fighting line. Well aware that the Christian leader’s life is a constant battle, Paul’s picture stresses not the vicious enemies to be faced but the unreserved dedication to his task needed by the soldier.

As a soldier under arms his duty is not to “entangle himself in the affairs of everyday life.” The Roman soldier avoided all preoccupation with the daily affairs of the marketplace in order to be free to obey without hindrance the orders of his commander. Engaged in a spiritual battle, the Christian soldier likewise must concentrate on his work; he must not devote his time and interests to a business on the side which hinders his faithful performance of his primary responsibility.

Paul’s language does not mean that the Christian worker must never engage in any secular work or tentmaking (Acts 18:3). Rather, he must be on guard against becoming so involved in such pursuits that he no longer feels free to give himself fully to the call of Christian service. As a loyal soldier of Christ he may “feel compelled to lay aside certain things, certain habits, certain amusements, certain pursuits, certain methods in business, and even certain friends-not because any of these may necessarily be wrong in themselves as such, but because they are a snare and entanglement” to him.

The effective Christian leader will deliberately avoid such entanglements in order “that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier,” His supreme ambition must ever be to win the commendation of his heavenly Captain. In the original, the words rendered “the one who enlisted him as a soldier” stand emphatically before the verb, thus stressing that Paul’s concern is first of all to please Him, rather than any human beings. And this effort to “please” Him whose initiative made him a soldier implies “pleasing by good service.” To gain the heavenly approbation, “well-done,” is an exalted goal which demands “his soul, his life, his all.” Men may live to please themselves or to please others, but the supreme motive of the Christian leader must be to please Christ.

In summarizing the teaching latent in this second image, at least three other qualities come into view: (1) The Christian leader is one who has heard the Lord’s call to service and has wholeheartedly aligned himself with the battle of the Lord. (2) The spiritual leader is willing to accept the hardship and suffering involved in his high calling. (3) His chief concern is to gain Christ’s approval on his service in His cause.

AN ATHLETE

“And also if any man competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules” (2 Tim 2:5).

Paul’s third image of the Christian leader is drawn from the athletic contests which were a prominent feature of Greco-Roman life. This image of a competitor in the games was another favorite with Paul. While elsewhere the figure is used of all believers (1 Cor 9:25), here Paul employs it specifically of the Christian leader. Based on a comparison of Paul’s language in this verse {2 Tim 2:5} with that of the ancient writer Galen (d. A.D. 201), Simpson suggests that Paul is thinking of the professional athlete, not an amateur.10 The figure, which suggests the thought of serious struggle and effort, is thus significant for the Christian leader. Like the professional athlete who was wholly absorbed in his pursuit in order to be successful, the Christian leader cannot engage in his task in a listless and indifferent manner but must concentrate on his work.

Paul says nothing here about the fierce competitors to be overcome, since his emphasis is on the necessary self-discipline of the contestant himself, The participant in the games could not win the prize unless he competed according to the rules. He had to adhere to all the prescribed conditions in connection with the contest. The contestants in the games had to meet rigorous training rules before being admitted to the contest, and then had to compete in full compliance with the regulations of the contest. It has been debated whether here Paul thinks of the preparatory demands as well, or only of the regulations imposed for the actual contest. Both views have been maintained, but from the context it seems that Paul here is not thinking about the preparatory requirements but of the grueling contest itself. Even though a contestant finished as the apparent victor, if he had violated any of the regulations he was disqualified and fined.

Paul’s figure stresses that, like the athlete, the Christian leader must be a man of rigid self-discipline, adhering strictly to all the regulations governing his work. He must faithfully adhere to the prescribed regulations, whatever self-sacrifice may be involved. In the words of Van Oosterzee, the Christian worker “dare not arbitrarily exempt himself from this or that portion of his task, or even direct his activities according to his own discretion; not the bias of his own heart, but the will of the Lord alone must be his standard.”  He must rigidly discipline himself to use methods that are straight and true and must do nothing which the searching test of the divine Umpire would condemn. He must perform his task “not only for God-approved ends in view, but by way of God-approved means.”

The contestants in the athletic games willingly endured the rigid demands imposed on them in hope of winning the prize. The needed self-discipline qualified them to perform victoriously in the contest. Likewise, the Christian leader gladly endures the present hardships and struggles in order to complete the contest victoriously and win the heavenly prize. The hope of the future reward must be for him a sustaining and invigorating reality. A certain minister who had endured unusual persecution and unjust charges was asked by a friend how he was able to bear it. He replied, “I always live in view of eternity.”

Two significant qualities for the Christian leader emerge from this image of the athlete. First, he must be a person with strong self-discipline, willing and able to conform his activities to the demands of truth and justice. Second, he must be motivated by the hope of future reward for present faithful service.

A FARMER

“The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops” (2 Tim 2:6).

The word here, translated “farmer,” means “a tiller of the soil,” (In the Authorized Version the word is rendered “husbandman.”) Farming is an essential occupation but it has no spectacular appeal or exciting glamour. Paul makes the hard work of the farmer central in his picture. The participle…“hardworking” denotes toiling to the point of weariness and exhaustion. Some innocent souls may harbor the illusion that the farmer simply sits under his vine or fig tree and lets the ripe fruit fall into his lap. But anyone having any acquaintance with farming knows that if there is to be fruit there must first be hard, exhausting toil.

This image gives emphasis to the fact that Christian service is hard work. Stott makes this remark: “This notion that Christian service is hard work is so unpopular in some happy-go-lucky Christian circles today that I feel the need to underline it.” Clearly Paul expected the willingness to work hard to be a normal characteristic of the Christian leader. Human hearts are the soil where the Christian leader sows the seed of the Word of God and where the fruits of his labors are produced. While never easy work, it is for the sake of the harvest that the Lord’s husbandman gladly engages in the demanding toil.

But the intended point in Paul’s figure of the farmer is the fact that the toil of the Christian worker has its present rewards. Because of his persistent toil, the farmer “ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.” “Ought”… indicates that his partaking of the fruit is a moral necessity. By the very nature of his occupation the farmer toils to produce food for others. But if he does not himself profit from the harvest produced, he will soon cease farming. The Christian worker toils to produce food for others through his study and teaching of the Word. But to remain spiritually effective, he must first nourish his own spiritual life with the food he produces.

In 1 Timothy 4:16 Paul urges Timothy, “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching.” The order is significant: “yourself…your teaching.” So the Christian worker has the duty and privilege of being the first to partake of the fruit produced. He must be willing to engage in hard and difficult toil in fulfilling his duty.

But he also has the rewarding privilege of first nurturing his own spiritual life from the results of his labors. Faithful toil in the Lord’s service has its rewards for the worker both here and hereafter. The faithful Christian worker experiences blessings from his work now vastly more rewarding than anything the world has to offer.

Paul’s fourth figure, that of the hardworking farmer, sets forth two qualities needed by the Christian leader. He must be willing to engage in difficult and exhausting toil in fulfillment of his assignment. But he must also be sure to nurture his own spiritual life from the results of his toil.

A WORKMAN

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15).

This figure of the workman appears in a context which stresses the need to check the inroads of false teaching in the Christian community. If the false teaching is to be checked, Timothy by his own example must show what a true Christian workman is and does. He is set in contrast to the quibblers about unprofitable words whom Paul has mentioned in the preceding verse {2 Tim 2:14}. In opposing these quibblers the Christian workman must use the influence of positive personal example.

What occupation Paul had in mind when using this figure of a “workman” is not certain. The basic meaning of the word… is “one who works for hire”; it thus conveys the thought that he works under the direction of another and is subject to the employer’s inspection of his work. The term was commonly used of agricultural workers, but it was also applied to those who engaged in fishing, building, or the production of some artifact. In Paul’s picture the stress is not on the needed skill of the workman but rather on his diligence to assure that his work is approved by his employer. The hortatory form of the verse {2 Tim 2:14} makes clear that such approval will require serious and persistent effort. The words “give diligence to present yourself approved unto God” summarize what the lifebusiness of the workman is to be. The aorist imperative of the verb …rendered “be diligent,” summarizes all the needed efforts as a unit. This high goal will require ceaseless, serious, earnest effort.

In all his activity the workman’s aim is to be “approved to God.” Plummer observes that this high aim will secure “diligence without fussiness, and enthusiasm without fanaticism.”  He will not be indifferent to the approval of men, but his governing concern will be the divine approval. The word…“yourself” stands emphatically forward and implies that the character of the approved workman will be established by the nature of his work. The adjective…“approved,” denotes that as a workman he “has done his job well and can therefore submit it to his employer without qualms or embarrassment.”  Thus the Christian leader must live under the consciousness that all his work is subject to God’s inspection. God is always aware of the quality of work the believer does.

From the thought of the divine approval of his work, Paul’s thought turns to the workman himself who comes under the divine inspection. For himself, his concern must be to be found “a workman who does not need to be ashamed.” He is concerned to avoid the embarrassment of having his work rejected. Scott remarks, “There can be no worse shame than to be proved incompetent in your own proper work, and this applies to the Christian teacher as to every other workman.”

“Handling accurately the word of truth” states the workman’s activity which will assure the divine approval. “The word of truth” is the whole gospel message as embodied in the Scriptures. “The modifier ‘of the truth,’“ Hendriksen observes, “emphasizes the contrast between God’s unshakeable special revelation, on the one hand, and the Ephesian errorists’ worthless chatter on the other.” The nature and function of “the word of truth” Paul explicitly states in 2 Timothy 3:16–17, Its divine nature demands that it be handled aright. “As the subject-matter is trustworthy, let it be trustily handled.”

“Handling accurately” renders the participle…, which has been the occasion for much discussion. It is a compound form having the primary meaning of “cutting straight.” The intended figure behind the term has been variously held to be that of a farmer plowing a straight furrow, a mason cutting a straight edge on a stone, a workman cutting a straight road, and even a priest’s proper dissection of a sacrificial animal. The suggestion that the figure was drawn from Paul’s own trade of tentmaking seems plausible. The word occurs only here in the New Testament, but in the Septuagint it occurs twice in Proverbs, both times in connection with the word “path” or “road.” Proverbs 11:5 says, “Righteousness cuts out blameless paths.” (Cf. also Prov 3:6.) Thus the lexicographers Arndt and Gingrich suggest that the probable meaning here is to “guide the word of truth along a straight path (like a road that goes straight to its goal), without being turned aside by wordy debates or impious talk.”

It is probable that in Paul’s usage the idea of cutting recedes into the background, with the emphasis failing on the adjective…“straight,” indicating that the Scriptures must be handled in a straight and true way. This view underlies the rendering “handling aright the word.” The demand is for a fair and conscientious or straightforward handling of the word itself. This, as opposed to all kinds of tortuous interpretations, or by-plays of ingenuity for sinister purposes, is pre-eminently what becomes the teacher who would stand approved in the judgment of God: …he must go right on in his use of the word, maintaining it in its integrity, and applying it to the great spiritual ends for which it has been given.

The Christian leader recognizes that the Word of God has its proper division and applies it according to the divine intention. All deceitful handling of the Word will surely receive divine condemnation in the day of judgment.

Two needed qualifications of the Christian leader stand out in this picture of the Lord’s workman. He must ever remember that he is accountable to God and must seek His approval on his work. He must handle God’s Word, which is so central in his work, with due care and without change, mutilation, or distortion.

A VESSEL

“Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work” (2 Tim 2:21).

In this impersonal image the stress falls on the character qualification of the leader for usefulness in the Lord’s service. Personal separation from pollution and inner holiness are essential for acceptable service in Christ’s cause. This necessity arises out of the mixed condition existing within Christendom, which Paul pictures in verse 20 {2 Tim 2:20} as “a great house” with its many vessels of mixed value and destiny. This mixed condition was obvious from the heretical activities of Hymenaeus and Philetus, who claimed to be Christian teachers in the church. This mixed condition Jesus had already foretold in His parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt 13:24–30,36–43).

The word… rendered “vessel,” can mean a jar, vessel, or dish; but the term has a wider meaning and can denote any household utensil. The image need not be confined to a hollow container. In Paul’s picture the two sets of utensils are clearly meant to represent true and false teachers in the professing Christian church. Since both classes professed allegiance to the Lord of the church, in the eyes of the world both were part of the church. These conditions demanded, therefore, that the Christian leader “cleanse himself from these” (2 Tim 2:21), the vessels “to dishonor” (2:20 {2 Tim 2:20}), with their heretical teachings and polluting influence.

For usefulness and approval the Christian leader under these conditions must as a definite act “cleanse himself,” by separating himself from these heretical teachers and their doctrines. The verb… stresses the thoroughness of the needed separation. An inward moral withdrawal is involved, but the full picture, includes a separation which refuses to have mutual fellowship with such enemies of the basic truths of the faith. The conditional form of Paul’s statement leaves undetermined the individual’s response but implies an expectancy that it will be fulfilled.

Such purging of himself will assure that the Christian leader will be “a vessel for honor.” He will be a vessel which the Lord of the house can employ for noble ends. “For honor”…refers to the Lord’s evaluation of the vessel, not the self-evaluation of the vessel. Barclay declares, “No Christian should ever think of fitting himself for honour; every Christian must always think of himself as fitting himself for service.”

Paul adds three elucidating predicates to describe further such a usable vessel. First, he will be “sanctified”, set apart and fully consecrated to the service of his Lord. The perfect tense in the original speaks of his permanent condition. Through the operation of the indwelling Spirit he will be a saint in position and experience.

Second, he will be “useful to the Master.” The adjective…“useful” means “well-usable, easy to be used.” The master finds him a vessel which is readily available and fit for his use. The word…“master” denotes one who has undisputed ownership and control. It speaks of the sovereign Lord who is the sole owner of His servants and who alone determines what use He will make of the vessels.

Third, he will be “prepared for every good work,” fully equipped and ready to take advantage of each opportunity for service which presents itself. He holds himself in a state of readiness for every kind of beneficial activity in the cause of his sovereign Lord.

Two specific qualities of the Christian leader are conveyed by this image of a vessel. First, he must be realistically aware of the fact of apostasy in Christendom and realize its polluting power. Second, being separated from contamination, he must desire to be fully available for the service of his sovereign Lord.

A SLAVE

“And the Lord’s bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition” (2 Tim 2:24–25a).

In this final image the picture is again that of a human being, but his status is lowly, that of a “bondservant.” The bondservant is the common Greek term for a slave. The absence of a definite article here with the term indicates his qualitative status as revealing a servant character. But the restrictive genitive, “the Lord’s” makes clear that this is his Godward relationship, not his manward position. There is no implication here that the Christian leader must be the slave of the people to whom he ministers. As the Lord’s slave he freely acknowledges that he belongs wholly to his Master. He must personally manifest the fact which is true of all believers, “you are not your own…you have been bought with a price” (1 Cor 6:19b–20). Furthermore, as the Lord’s slave he is committed not to do his own will but to govern all his activities by the will of his Lord. In view of what follows, it is probable that Paul’s selection of this image was inspired by the “servant of the Lord” passage in Isaiah 53.

His status as the Lord’s bondservant must be revealed in his conduct, both negatively and positively. Negatively, he “must not be quarrelsome.” “Must” indicates that this is necessary in view of what he is. He has the moral obligation not to become characterized as a battler, one who is of a contentious and combative disposition. He must not involve himself in unprofitable and senseless controversies. But this does not mean that he must never engage in controversy when the truth of the gospel is at stake. It is his duty to “contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3), but he must not do so as a lover and seeker of contention.

Over against this negative demand Paul sets forth a fourfold positive description of the proper demeanor of the Lord’s servant. First, he must “be kind to all,” the opposite of harsh and irritable. He must be affable and mild in his dealings with “all,” not only with his loyal followers but also with those who are unfriendly and antagonistic. In the words of Woychuk, he must continually be “cultivating a spirit of habitual courtesy, while using the strongest arguments from the armory of truth.”

Second, in his dealings with others he must be…“able to teach,” capable and willing to impart instruction and counsel whenever the opportunity arises. In the words of Barclay, “He must not only know the truth, but he must also be able to communicate the truth.

Third, he must be … (“patient when wronged”; literally, “patient under injury”). Lenski renders this word, “putting up with what is bad.”  Whenever his efforts to impart instruction are met with rejection or hostile scorn and ridicule, he must patiently bear those injuries without anger or resentment. Barclay makes the significant observation, “There may be greater sins than touchiness, but there is none which does greater damage in the Christian Church.”

Fourth, he must be mild in dealing with opponents, “with gentleness correcting them who are in opposition.” This is the needed attitude in seeking to win them away from their hostility and the devil’s snare and to lead them to the knowledge of God’s truth and salvation.

In this final image of the Christian leader two basic qualities are indicated. As the Lord’s bondsman he must accept and work in full submission to the will of his heavenly Master. And he must also exhibit a becoming disposition and pleasing conduct in his endeavor to help others spiritually.

SUMMARY

Paul’s portrayal of the Christian leader in 2 Timothy 2 has been considered under the images of a teacher, a soldier, an athlete, a farmer, a workman, a vessel, and a slave. They provide a challenging composite picture of the essential nature and function of the godly leader in the Christian community. This discussion of the qualities depicted in these images has not been exhaustive; neither should it be assumed that these seven images give a total picture of all the qualities desirable in a God-chosen Christian leader. But it is obvious that they do provide a clear picture of the essential qualities for effectiveness in the Lord’s work. These qualifications relate to four relationships of the Christian leader.

Fundamental to most of these images is the thought of the leader’s relationship to God. Called and commissioned by his Lord, he knows that he is not his own but that he belongs wholly to his heavenly Master. His Master has enlisted him in the battle against sin and evil and expects him to be yielded, prepared, and ready to carry out His assignments. Called to further the work of the Lord, an essential part of his task is the training and equipping of additional workers. He stands accountable to his Lord for all that he does and is desirous to win His full approval.

The God-approved leader has a very close, positive relationship to the Scriptures. He maintains an unswerving loyalty to the divinely revealed message therein and nurtures his own spiritual life by feeding on that message. He has a strong concern to handle the Scriptures accurately without change, mutilation, or distortion. His own loyalty to the inspired Word makes him keenly aware of the evil of perverting the revealed message. He is opposed to all apostasy and is keenly sensitive to the dangers inherent in any departure from or repudiation of the divine Word.

As a God-called leader he realizes the importance of his relationships to others. He endeavors to use the influence of personal example as well as faithful instruction in dealing with others. He seeks to lead and instruct faithful followers, but he is also seriously concerned about seeking to rescue those who have become entangled in error. From among those who receive his guidance and instruction he is concerned about calling forth and training further leaders.

In relationship to himself, the Christian leader must be a person of strong self-discipline. He must be willing to accept hard work as a natural part of his assignment and be prepared to face opposition and suffering in his work of opposing the forces of evil. He is wholly committed to carrying out the will of God and willing to pay the cost involved in his high assignment. In thus fulfilling his duties he knows the joy of faithful service now and is inspired by the prospects of future reward after completing his work here on earth. Keenly aware of the privileges and responsibilities of his assignment, it is his constant desire to present himself to God as a workman who has no need of being ashamed.

Biblio Sacra Vol. 133 #531 Jul 76; pp. 214-229

Preacher in the Hands of an Angry Church

Jonathan Edwards’s church kicked him out after 23 years of ministry, but the crisis proved his greatness was not merely intellectual.
by Chris Armstrong

As messy dismissals of ministers go, the 1750 ejection of Jonathan Edwards by his Northampton congregation was among the messiest. The fact that it involved the greatest theologian in American history—the central figure of the Great Awakening—is almost beside the point. The fact that it took place in a New England fast moving from theocratic “city on a hill” to democratic home of liberty is more relevant.

But another aspect is worth a closer look: Friends and enemies alike agreed that in the long, degenerating discontent, Edwards continued to love and pray for—or at least tolerate and refrain from attacking—his people, even when they bared their fangs.

Salary controversies and power struggles marked his ministry during the 1740s. In the infamous “bad book” episode of 1744, some teen boys in the church distributed a midwife’s manual, using it to taunt and make suggestive comments in front of girls. When the culprits were summoned before the church, their response, according to documents of the proceedings, was “contemptuous … toward the authority of this Church.”

Edwards chose to read before the church a list containing, indiscriminately, the names of both the young distributors as well as the purported witnesses. Some parents were outraged at Edwards.

Another issue was Edwards’s personality and style as a minister. At the outset of his ministry at Northampton, for example, he decided that he would not pay the customary regular visits to his congregants, but would rather come to their side only when called in cases of sickness or other emergency. This made him seem, to some in the church, cold and distant.

An Edwards “disciple,” Samuel Hopkins, later wrote that this practice was not due to lack of affection and concern for his people: “For their good he was always writing, contriving, labouring; for them he had poured out ten thousand fervent prayers; and they were dear to him above any other people under heaven.”

Rather, Edwards had made a clear-eyed assessment of his own gifts and decided that he was unable to match the graceful gregariousness of those ministers who had a “knack at introducing profitable, religious discourse in a free, natural, and … undesigned way.”

Thus he would “do the greatest good to souls … by preaching and writing, and conversing with persons under religious impressions in his study, where he encouraged all such to repair.”

Edwards’s ministry might yet have endured, however, were it not for the death of his uncle, Colonel John Stoddard, in 1748. Born in 1682, 21 years before Edwards, the colonel had built a friendship with his nephew. A sharp thinker, a county judge, and a savvy politician, John was a militia colonel who had become commander-in-chief of the Massachusetts western frontier by 1744. Stoddard wore—at least in the secular sphere—the mantle of his father and Edwards’s grandfather, “pope” of the Connecticut Valley, Solomon Stoddard.

Edwards found himself often leaning on his uncle’s influence to navigate the affairs of the church. Thus when Stoddard died, Edwards lost not only an uncle but a powerful ally and confidante.

As Iain Murray put it in his biography of Edwards: “There would be no open criticism of Edwards as long as Stoddard sat appreciatively in his pew beneath the pulpit in the meeting-house Sunday by Sunday.” Once the colonel was gone, however, that changed dramatically.

Stoddard’s heir-apparent as Hampshire County’s leading figure was Edwards’s cousin Israel Williams, a Harvard graduate, imperious in manner and implacably set against Edwards. In his early nineteenth-century biography, descendant S. E. Dwight named Israel and several others of the Williams clan as having “religious sentiments [that] differed widely from” those of Edwards. Their opposition soon became “a settled and personal hostility.” Williams served as counselor and ringleader to Edwards’s opponents. Joining this opposition were another cousin, Joseph Hawley Jr., 21 years Edwards’s junior.

Visible saints, hidden agendas
The same year John Stoddard died, an event finally pushed the hostile faction into open revolt.

For years, Edwards had been uncomfortable with the lenient policy on membership and communion set by his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, Edwards’s predecessor at Northampton. Stoddard had allowed almost anyone to join and to partake, hoping that membership and communion might encourage true conversion. In 1748, Edwards changed the policy and told an applicant for church membership that he must first make a public “profession of godliness.”

Thus Edwards rejected the “Halfway Covenant”—the longstanding compromise of the Puritans who had, generations after planting their religious colonies, found their church membership dwindling. That compromise had reversed the traditional Puritan requirement that new church members be “visible saints,” godly in word and deed.

When the congregation saw that Edwards intended to return to the earlier, stricter Puritan position, demanding not only a profession of faith, but also evidence of repentance and holiness, a firestorm arose. Many of the church’s leading members felt Edwards’s innovation was a direct threat.

Two revivals had produced many converts, but, as biographer Patricia Tracy put it, “Men and women who had been recognized as visible saints in Northampton still wallowed in clandestine immorality and flagrant pride.”

Though Edwards knew, as he notes in his letters, that he was likely to lose his pastorate as a result, he stuck to his principles.

A council of the congregation put a moratorium on new memberships until the issue of criteria could be resolved. Edwards told them he planned to preach on his reasons for changing the policy. They forbade him to do so. Edwards began to write a book on the matter. Few read it, and too late to do much good.

In 1750, a council was called to consider whether the congregation would dismiss its minister. No one doubted what the conclusion would be.

Edwards’s friend David Hall noted in his diary the minister’s reaction when on June 22, 1750, the council handed down its decision:

“That faithful witness received the shock, unshaken. I never saw the least symptoms of displeasure in his countenance the whole week but he appeared like a man of God, whose happiness was out of the reach of his enemies and whose treasure was not only a future but a present good … even to the astonishment of many who could not be at rest without his dismission.”

46 and unemployed
Edwards wrote that he now found himself a 46-year-old ex-minister “fitted for no other business but study,” with a large family to provide for. Although he knew “we are in the hands of God, and I bless him, I am not anxious concerning his disposal of us,” he fretted over his situation in letters to friends. Yet neither the distressing conditions nor the continuing antagonism of his opponents drew him out to open attack.

Remarkably (and partly because of financial need), Edwards agreed to continue preaching at the church while they searched for a replacement. But his Farewell Sermon also indicates he acted out of continued concern for the flock. He continued through mid-November, despite the Town maliciously barring him, a month after his dismissal, from using its common grazing land.

Finally in December 1750, after an anxious autumn during which he had even considered removing his entire family to Scotland to accept an invitation there, Edwards accepted a charge in Massachusetts’s “wild west,” the Indian town of Stockbridge. There he would labor the rest of his life, pursue his theological thinking to its most brilliant heights, and create one of the most enduring missionary biographies of all time, the life story of his young friend David Brainerd.

Belated praise
In 1760, his former enemy, cousin Joseph Hawley, wrote to Edwards’s friend David Hall, confessing that “vast pride, self-sufficiency, ambition, and vanity” had animated his leadership in the “melancholy contention” with Edwards. He repented of his earlier failure to render the respect due Edwards as a “most able, diligent and faithful pastor.”

Hawley concluded, “I am most sorely sensible that nothing but that infinite grace and mercy which saved some of the betrayers and murderers of our blessed Lord, and the persecutors of his martyrs, can pardon me; in which alone I hope for pardon, for the sake of Christ, whose blood, blessed by God, cleanseth from all sin.”

On June 22, 1900, exactly 150 years after Edwards’s dismissal, a group gathered at the First Church in Northampton to unveil a bronze memorial.

H. Norman Gardiner, a professor of philosophy at Smith College and chairman of the memorial committee, characterized Edwards’s ejection as “a public rejection and banishment” that remained “a source of reproach to his church and people.” He noted the “hatred, malice, and uncharitableness which characterized the opposition to him,” for which, to Gardiner, no apology either contemporary or modern could atone.

Edwards would have disagreed, arguing instead that even such deeply wounding actions as the aggravated and wrongful dismissal of a pastor from his pulpit of 23 years are not unforgivable. In that understanding, as in so much else, Edwards was far ahead both of his enemies and of many of us today.

For 2003 Christian History magazine is publishing an issue commemorating the 300th anniversary of Edwards’s birth. For information visit www.christianhistory.net

Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal.
Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal. Winter 2003, Vol. XXV, No. 1, Page 52

Of the Office of Preaching

by Martin Luther (1483-1546)

The following sermon is taken from volume III of, The Sermons of Martin Luther, published by Baker Book House (Grand Rapids, MI). It was originally published in 1907 in english by Lutherans In All Lands (Minneapolis, MN), in a series titled The Precious and Sacred Writings of Martin Luther, vol. 12. The original title of this sermon appears below (preached by Luther in 1522 and 1523). This e-text was scanned and edited by Shane Rosenthal for Reformation Ink ; it is in the public domain and it may be copied and distributed without restriction. Original pagination from the Baker edition has been kept intact for purposes of reference. PAGE 373

OF THE OFFICE OF PREACHING & OF PREACHERS AND HEARERS:

JOHN 10: 1-11: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
SECTION I. TRUE PREACHERS OF THE WORD MUST BE REGULARLY CALLED.

1. This Gospel treats of the office of the ministry, how it is constituted, what it accomplishes and how it is misused. It is indeed very necessary to know these things, for the office of preaching is second to none in Christendom. St. Paul highly esteemed this office for the reason that through it the Word of God was proclaimed which is effective to the salvation of all who believe it. He says to the Romans (1:16): “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” We must now consider this theme, since our Gospel lesson presents and includes it. It will, however, be a stench in the nostrils of the pope!  PAGE 374

But how shall I deal differently with him? The text says: “He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber (murderer).”

2. This verse has been explained as having reference to those who climb, by their presumption, into the best church livings through favor and wealth, recommendations or their own power, not obtaining them by regular appointment and authority. And at present the most pious jurists are punishing people for running to Rome after fees and benefices, or after ecclesiastical preferment and offices. This they call simony. The practice is truly deplorable, for much depends upon being regularly called and appointed. No one should step into the office and preach from his own presumption and without a commission from those having the authority. But under present conditions, if we should wait until we received a commission to preach and to administer the sacraments, we would never perform those offices as long as we live. For the bishops in our day press into their offices by force, and those who have the power of preferment are influenced by friendship and rank. But I pass this by, and will speak of the true office, into which no one forces his way (even though his devotion urge him) without being called by others having the authority.

3. True, we all have authority to preach, yea, we must preach God’s name; we are commanded to do so. Peter says in his first Epistle, (2:9-10) “But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: who in time past were no people, but now are the people of God: who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” Nevertheless, Paul establishes order in 1 Cor. 14:40 and says: “In whatever you do among yourselves, let everything be done decently and in order.” In a family there must be order. If all the heirs strive for lordship, anarchy will reign in the family. If, however, by common consent, one of the number is selected for the heirship, the others withdrawing, harmony PAGE 375

will obtain. Likewise, in the matter of preaching we must make selection that order may be preserved…
(short section omitted here).
SECTION II. PREACHERS OF THE WORD TO PREACH NOTHING BUT THE WORD.

4. So much for the call into the office. But Christ is not speaking of that here; for something more is required, namely, that no rival or supplementary doctrine be introduced, nor another word be taught than Christ has taught. Christ says in Mt. 23:2-4: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat: all things therefore whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe: but do not ye after their works; for they say and do not. Yea, they bind heavy burdens too grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger.” Although these of whom Christ here speaks were regularly appointed, yet they were thieves and murderers; for they taught variations from Christ’s teaching. Christ reproves them in another place, in Matthew 15:3, where he holds up before them their traditions and tells them how, through their own inventions, they have transgressed the commandments of God, yea, totally abolished them. We have also many prophets who were regularly appointed and still were misled, like Balaam, of whom we read in Num. 22; also Nathan, described in 2 Sam 7:3. Similarly many bishops have erred. PAGE 376

5. Here Christ says: He who would enter by the door must be ready to speak the Word concerning Christ and his word must center in Christ. Let it be called “coming” when one preaches aright; the approaching is spiritual, and through the Word–upon the ears of his hearers, the preacher comes at last into the sheepfold–the heart of believers. Christ says that the shepherd must enter by the door; that is, preach nothing but Christ, for Christ is the door into the sheepfold.

6. But where there are intruders, who make their own door, their own hole to crawl through, their own addition different from that which Christ taught, they are thieves. Of these Paul says to the Romans (16:17-18): “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them that are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which ye learned: and turn away from them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and fair speech they beguile the hearts of the innocent.” Paul does not speak of opposing or antagonistic doctrines, but of those placed beside the true doctrine; they are additions, making divisions. Paul calls it a rival doctrine, an addition, an occasion of stumbling, an offense and a byway, when one establishes the conscience upon his own goodness or deeds.

7. Now, the Gospel is sensitive, complete and pre-eminent: it must be intolerant of additions and rival teachings. The doctrine of earning entrance into heaven by virtue of fastings, prayers and penance is a branch road, which the Gospel will not tolerate. But our Church authorities endorse these things, hence they are thieves and murderers; for they do violence to our consciences, which is slaying and destroying the sheep. How is this accomplished? If only I am directed into a branch or parallel road, then my soul is turned from God upon that road, where I must perish. Thus this road is the cause of my death. The conscience and heart of man must be founded upon one single Word or they will come to grief. “All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field” (Is 40:6).

8. The doctrines of men, however admirable, fall to the ground, and with them the conscience that has built upon them.  PAGE 377

There is no help nor remedy. But the Word of God is eternal and must endure forever; no devil can overthrow it. The foundation is laid upon which the conscience may be established forever. The words of men must perish and everything that cleaves to them. Those who enter not by the door–that is, those who do not speak the true and pure Word of God, without any addition–do not lay the right foundation; they destroy and torture and slaughter the sheep. Therefore, Christ says further in this Gospel: “But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his Voice.”
SECTION III. A TRUE PREACHER SHOULD FIRST USE THE LAW ARIGHT AND THEN PREACH THE GOSPEL.

9. The porter here is the preacher who rightly teaches the Law–shows that the Law exists and must reveal to us our helplessness; that the works of the Law do not help us, and yet they are insistent. He then opens to the shepherd, that is, to Christ the Lord, and lets him alone feed the sheep. For the office of the Law is at an end; it has accomplished its mission of revealing to the heart its sins until it is completely humbled. Then Christ comes and makes a lamb out of the sheep–feeds it with his Gospel and directs it how to regain cheer for the heart so hopelessly troubled and crushed by the Law.

10. The lamb then hears Christ’s voice and follows it. It has the choicest of pastures, and knows the voice of the shepherd. But the voice of a stranger it never hears and never follows. Just as soon as one preaches to it about works, it is worried and its heart cannot receive the teaching with joy. It knows very well that nothing is accomplished by means of works; for one may do as much as he will, still he carries a heavy spirit and he thinks he has not done enough, nor done rightly. But when the Gospel comes–the voice of the shepherd–it says: God gave to the world his only Son, that all who believe on him should not perish, but have everlasting 378

life. Then is the heart happy; it feeds upon these words and finds them good. The lamb has found its satisfying pasture; it wants none other. Yea, when it is given other pasture, it flees from it and will not feed therein. This pasture always attracts the sheep, and the sheep also find it. God says in the prophecy of Isaiah: “So shall my Word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish all in the things whereto, I sent it” (Is 55:11).
SECTION IV. THE HEARERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO EXAMINE AND JUDGE A SERMON

“And he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them and the sheep follow him; for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers.”

11. In this text there are two thoughts worthy of note: the liberty of faith, and the power to judge. You know that our soul-murderers have proposed to us that what the councils and the learned doctors decide and decree, that we should accept, and not judge for ourselves whether it is right or not. They have become so certain of the infallibility of the councils and doctors that they have now established the edict, publicly seen, that if we do not accept what they say, we are put under the ban. Now, let us take a spear in hand and make a hole in their shield; yea, their resolutions shall be a spider’s web. And you should, moreover, use upon them the spear which until now they have used upon us, and hold before them its point.

12. Remember well that the sheep have to pass judgment upon that which is placed before them. They should say: We have Christ as our Lord and prefer his Word to the words of any man or to those of the angels of darkness. We want to examine and judge for ourselves whether the pope, the bishops and their followers do right or not. For Christ says here that the sheep judge and know which is the right voice and which is not. Now let them come along. Have they decreed anything? We will examine whether it is right, and according  379

to our own judgment interpret that which is a private affair for each individual Christian, knowing that the authority to do this is not human, but divine. Even the real sheep flee from a stranger and hold to the voice of their shepherd.

13. Upon this authority., the Gospel knocks all the councils, all the papistic laws, to the ground, granting to us that we should receive nothing without judging it, that we have besides the power to judge, and that such judgment stands until the present day. The papists have taken from us the sword, so that we have not been able to repel any false doctrine, and, moreover, they have by force introduced false teachings among us. If now we take the sword from them they will be sorry. And we must truly take it, not by force, but by means of the Word, letting go all else that we have, saying: I am God’s sheep, whose Word I wish to appropriate to myself. If you will give me that, I will acknowledge you to be a shepherd. If you, however, add another Gospel to this one, and do not give me the pure Gospel, then I will not consider you a shepherd, and will not listen to your voice; for the office of which you boast extends no farther than the Word goes. If we find one to be a shepherd, we should receive him as such: if he is not, we should remove him; for the sheep shall judge the voice of the shepherd. If he does not give us the right kind of pasture, we should bid farewell to such a shepherd, that is, to the bishop; for a hat of pearls and a staff of silver do not make a shepherd or a bishop, but rather does the office depend upon his care of the sheep and their pasture.

14. Now the papists object to judgment being passed upon any of their works; for this reason they have intruded and taken from us the sword which we might use for such a purpose. Also, they dictate that we must accept, without any right of judgment, whatever they propose. And it has almost come to such a pass that whenever the pope breathes they make an article of faith out of it, and they have proclaimed that the authorities have the right to pass such laws for their subjects as they desire, independent of the judgment of the latter. These conditions mean ruin to the Christians, PAGE 380

so much so that a hundred thousand swords should be desired for one pope. This they know very well, and they cling hard to their laws. If they would permit unbiased judgment, their laws would be set aside and they would have to preach the pure Word; but such a course would reduce the size of their stomachs and the number of their horses.

15. Therefore, be ye aroused by this passage of Scripture to hew to pieces and thrust through everything that is not in harmony with the Gospel, for it belongs to the sheep to judge, and not to the preachers. You have the authority and power to judge everything that is preached; that and nothing less. If we have not this power, then Christ vainly said to us in Mt. 7:15: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.” We could not beware if we had not the power to judge, but were obliged to accept everything they said and preached.
V. PREACHERS ARE TO FORCE NO ONE TO BELIEVE.

16. The second thought is, no one shall be forced to believe; for the sheep follow him whom they know and flee from strangers. Now, Christ’s wish is that none be forced, but that they be permitted to follow from willing hearts and of their own desire; not out of fear, shame or strife. He would let the Word go forth and accomplish all. When their hearts are taken captive, then they will surely come of themselves. Faith does not go forth from the heart unless it has the Word of God.

17. Our noblemen are now mad and foolish in that they undertake to drive people to believe by means of force and the sword. Christ here wishes the sheep to come of themselves, from their knowledge of his voice. The body may be forced, as the pope, for example, has by his laws coerced people to go to confession and to the Lord’s Supper, but the heart cannot be taken captive. Christ wants it to be free. Although he had power to coerce men, he wished to win them through his pleasing, loving preaching. Whoever lays hold of Christ’s word follows after him and permits nothing to, PAGE 381

tear him from it. The noblemen wish to drive the people to believe by means of the sword and fire; that is nonsense. Then let us see to it that we allow the pure Word of God to take its course, and afterward leave them free to follow, whom it has taken captive; yea, they will follow voluntarily.

18. By this I do not wish to abolish the civil sword; for the hand can hold it within its grasp so that it does no one any harm, but it holds it inactive. It must be retained because of wicked villains who have no regard at all for the Word; but the sword cannot force the heart and bring it to faith. In view of its inability, it must keep silent in matters of faith; here one must enter by the door, and preach the Word and make the heart free. Only in this way are men led to believe. These are the two expedients–for the pious and the wicked: the pious are to be drawn by the Word, and the wicked to be driven by the sword to observe order.
VI. THE MARKS OF FALSE PREACHERS.

19. Now, Christ interprets his own words. He says that he is the door to the sheep, but all the others who came before him, that is, those who were not sent by God as the prophets were, but came of themselves, uncommissioned, are thieves and murderers; they steal his honor from God and strangle human souls by their false doctrines. But Christ is the door, and whoever enters by him will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. Here Christ speaks of the Christian liberty, which means that Christians are now free from the curse and the tyranny of the Law, and may keep the Law or not, according as they see that the love and need of their neighbor requires. This is what Paul did. When he was among the Jews, he kept the Law with the Jews; when among the gentiles, he kept it as they kept it, which he himself says in 1 Cor. 9:19-23:

“For though I was free from all men, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more. And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, not being myself under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; to them that are without law, as without law, not being PAGE 382

without law to God, but under law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak: I am become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. And I do all things for the gospel’s sake, that I may be a joint partaker thereof.”

20. That, the thieves and murderers, the false teachers and prophets, never do; they accomplish nothing but to steal, strangle and destroy the sheep. But Christ, the true and faithful shepherd, comes only that the sheep may have life and be fully satisfied. This is enough on today’s Gospel for the present. We will conclude and pray God for grace rightly to lay hold of it and understand it.

This article was made available on the internet via REFORMATION INK (www.markers.com/ink).

What ‘Should’ a Preacher Consider Before Preaching?

Most people who sit in their pews during a church service have little idea for how much an average preacher prepares or how much he has been taught to consider before stepping before the people to preach.  This amount of work, of course, does not refer to the lazy preacher, to the very gifted preacher, or to the one who has disciplined himself in the work and art of preaching.

This lack of awareness is not found only among God’s people. It is also an issue with many, if not most, church elders. Years ago an elderly elder summoned me after a worship service.  Though I had no clue what he wanted, I suspected from previous encounters with him that it would not be a positive meeting.  From his perspective it was a good and short meeting.  In front of other elders and passersby he basically told me I was the worst preacher he had ever heard, that I needed to preach like the previous pastor, and that he was going to teach me how.

I declined to cooperate with his scheme, primarily because he was not a public speaker, let alone a preacher; but also because his design was to mold me into someone else – his favorite preacher.  However, I did agree to take advanced classes at a seminary, read dozens of books and magazines on the subject, and work with ten pastors around the country who were quite adept at the task of preaching.  My proposal was to pursue this course for a year, at which time there would be a serious reevaluation.  A year later the elders did not take me up on the review. Nearly four years later the elders announced that my preaching was not what they wanted, and one of the men said that in the course of five years at the church he had not benefited from any of the messages (more than three hundred of them) I delivered.  Needless to say, I was not a good fit for that church; well, at least not with the elders.

It turned out that the professors at seminary, the ten other pastors, and a communication specialist begged to differ with those elders. For them, their instruction, and their reviews I was grateful.  The whole experience provided many lessons; and not all of them about preaching.

During that year of training more than thirty books about preaching and public communication had been absorbed. After a while ideas become redundant.  At the same time, it was revealing to see how quite differently the various pastors, preachers and professionals were regarding the nature and the method of preaching. One result was a chart comparing and contrasting their expert dictums and opinions.  How contrary many of them were!  The other result was a list of all of the “critical” things these professionals expected a “good” preacher to consider before and during the preaching moment.  They are hereby presented for your benefit (or amusement):

1.  Read the Scripture with expression

2.   Read the Scripture with clarity

3.  Give an introduction:

a. That engages and gets the attention of the audience

b. That lays the foundation for the sermon theme

c.  That makes obvious the sermon theme

d.  Arouses their interest

e.   Touches upon a need directly or indirectly

f.   Is it relevant?

g.   Does it have a ministry sentence (summary and main point that includes what the expected response should be and an element of appeal or challenge).

4.   Make sure this is expository preaching

Which is “Bible-centered preaching. That is, it is handling the text ‘in such a way that its real and essential meaning as it existed in the mind of the particular Biblical writer and as it exists in the light of the over-all context of Scripture is made plain and applied to the present-day needs of the hearers.’” (S. Greidanus)  Concentrate on the original message, but recognize the discontinuity of progressive revelation, kingdom history and culture.

5. Does the sermon recognize the overarching continuity?

a. One faithful God
b. One covenant people

6.  Focus upon the goal of the text

“To understand a text is to understand the question behind the text, the question that called the text into being” (Richard Palmer). Redefine the specific issue and search for the underlying principle

7. The form of the sermon

a. The main point of the sermon is clearly derived from the main point of the text

b. “An oral topical sentence must do far more. It must state the idea clearly, tersely, descriptively and formulaically so that not only does the thought become memorable by being part of a larger pattern; it must also have an intrinsic memorable quality in its own right, such as sharply descriptive nouns and verbs that make the milestones of the speech’s progression stand out clearly.” (Wilbur Ellsworth)

c. The sub-points of the sermon flow naturally from the main point and coordinate with each other? Are the transitions fluid, clear, obvious and helpful?

d. The content of the sub-points are adequately developed?

e. The content includes:

(1) The person and work of Jesus Christ

(2) Salvation by grace in Christ

(3) An appeal to the conscience about sin and guilt

(4) A focus upon eternity

(5)  Accountability to God

(6)  A call for a specific response of repentance and faith

(7)  The biblical passage is explained adequately?

(8)  Is it obvious that good exegesis has taken place?

(9) Are the big themes of the Bible (God’s rule, covenant, grace, people, plan of redemption, His glory and the fulfillment of all these in Jesus Christ) reflected upon or touched by the sermon?

(10) Does the original message to the original audience inform our current circumstances?

(11) Use illustrations that help the audience get the point

(12) Don’t use illustrations that detract from the main point

(13) Does the sermon reflect the dialogical nature between God and his people?

(14) Does the sermon convey the sense that the audience is one with the original hearers of the Scripture passage?

(15) Does it employ gracious invitation?

(16) Does is admonish with sober warnings?

(17) Will it preach perseverance to believers?

8. Application

a. Is application spread throughout the text or is it placed at the end?

b. “What application does, then, is to “attach” to the simple interpretation of the passage the meaning for the congregation today in the context of their modern life situations…[w]hat this means is that not only must the preacher study the passage for its historical/grammatical meanings, but he also must:

i.     Study the present situation(s) that the congregation faces,
ii.     Study the various members of the congregation, who are facing it,
iii.     Abstract the truth or principle that the Holy Spirit intended to teach from the passage,
iv.     Discover how the writer applied this principle to his readers, and
v.     Do the same today for his own congregation in their modern setting.” (Jay Adams)

c.  Does the application flow from the text itself?

d. Does the application address people where they live?

i.     Is it interesting?
ii.     Is it for today?
iii.     Does it address issues of the day?

e. Is the application evangelical (not moralistic), flowing from the grace of God in Christ?

f. Is the application specific, pointed and aimed at the conscience?

g. What difference will this sermon make?

h. Does it commend the Good News of God’s grace to the hearers?

i. Does the sermon take into consideration the various needs of the hearers in the congregation?

i.     Unbelievers who are both ignorant and unteachable
ii.     Some who are teachable, but yet ignorant
iii.     Some who have knowledge, but are not as yet humbled…
iv.     Some who are humbled
v.     Some who believe…
vi.     Some who have fallen…
vii.     That the congregation is made up of mingled people (William Perkins in the Art of Prophecy)

j. Be careful not to communication that only the application of the text is relevant. “…[A]pplication is based on a proper comprehension of the passage’s meaning and they will probably not take the application to heart unless this is clear to them.” (Stuart)

9. The conclusion

a. Does it flow from the sermon?

b. Is it a well-rounded wrap-up of the sermon?

c. Is the purpose of the sermon obviously achieved?

d. Is the focus of the conclusion appropriate to the sermon?

e. Does it challenge the audience to think or do something specific?

10. Delivery and style:

a. Will it be effective (what is said and how it is said)

b. “Apart from life-related, biblical content we have nothing worth communicating; but without skillful delivery, we will not get our content across to the congregation. In order of significance the ingredients making up a sermon are thought, arrangement, language, voice and gesture. In priority of impressions, however, the order reverses.” (Haddon Robinson)

c. Preach in understandable vocabulary (be careful about using difficult theological terms unless you define them)

i.     Is there varied and imaginative language?
ii.     Is there sense appeal?

aa.         Is it visually effective?

bb.         Does it describe and employ the senses of taste, smell, see, hear, or feel? (Jay Adams)

cc.         Is there a vivid description?

dd.         Does it paint a picture for them?

d. Are the verbs active or passive? Is there action?

e. Consider verbal aspects:

i.     Use good voice inflection and clarity
ii.     Make sure the volume is varied and appropriate
iii.     Is the voice clear and easy to listen to?
iv.     Are there fresh or abundant metaphors, similes or good use of pictorial language?
v.     Is there unnecessary verbiage?
vi.     Does it respect everyone in the congregation, all levels of physical, mental and spiritual maturity?

f. Announce your points in the sermon only if is will help the audience understand or more clearly remember the Holy Spirit’s purpose of the text (Jay. Adams).

g. Is the sermon animated conversation?

h. Use appropriate body language

i.     Do not lean on the pulpit
ii.     Do not use any habitual physical actions that can be distracting

i Is the overall appearance attractive or distracting?

j. Use facial gestures and expressions that are appropriate

k. Have good eye contact with the audience

l. Have a commanding presence in the pulpit

m. Is the sermon oral English or written English?  (re: Jay Adams)

i.     Oral English is more concrete, looser, less grammatically exact, more repetitious, more limited in use of vocabulary – especially in terms or jargon. It must be comprehended at the speaker’s rate – the first time over.

ii.     Written English can be more compressed and concise, more technical.

iii.     Is the sermon going to be presented in oral English or bookish English?

n.  Consider the length of sermon (25-35 minutes):

i.     “The true way to shorten a sermon is to make it more interesting” (H. W. Beecher

ii.     “Brevity may be the soul of wit, but the preacher is not a wit. A Christianity of short sermons is a Christianity of short fibre.” (P. T. Forsyth)

o. Is it relevant? Is the congregation involved?

i.     Address general needs

ii.     Address the whole person

iii.     Use dialogue

iv.     Use concrete and vivid language

p. Is there a love and zeal for preaching that at times can be described as a mania? (Acts 26:24; Jn. 10:20; 2 Cor. 5:13)?

q. Are you being authentic or trying to mimic someone else?

r. Take into consideration the manner of power preaching (Acts 4:29; 20:31)

i.     Submit to the Holy Spirit in prayer
ii.     Be full of zeal, intensity and boldness
iii.     Proclaim with fear toward God and fearlessness toward man
iv.     Anticipate God’s protection in the midst of suffering and opposition to the Word
v.     Expect the Word to grow by God’s sovereign appointment
vi.     Preach with compassion and tears (Acts 20:19,31)

11. Effectiveness

a. Speak with confidence and boldness

b. Speak with fire, conviction and unction

c. Will the sermon move or persuade the audience?

d. Was the audience taken into consideration? Think analytically about the audience:

i.     How much do they know about the message?

ii.     What, if any, are some misconceptions and/or prejudices that they may hold?

iii.   What are some of the obstacles that may intrude in:

1. Communicating the message,
2. Persuading people of its truth, and/or
3. Motivating them to act on it?

iv.  Are there any reasons why I might turn them off?

v. What technical terms will I need to use and to explain?

vi. How would I best illustrate the truth to this group?

1. What are the best areas from which to draw illustrations?
2. What sort of language should I use with this group to make my illustrations clear?

vii. What do I need to say in order to demonstrate how to implement the action(s) required?

viii. Is the audience varied enough in the above matters that I shall have to approach the question from more than one angle?

ix. Given the general spiritual condition of the congregation, how much truth can I communicate, and to what depth?

x. Is my problem with this group fundamentally to give them information, to persuade them to believe or disbelieve something (or both), or to get them to do what they already know and believe? Or is it a combination of two or more of the above? (Jay Adams)

e. Does the sermon consider that the people might be expectantly waiting for God to speak to their problem from it, or does it merely analyze the scriptural passage? (Jay Adams)

f. Will the sermon teach anything?

i.     It is good, solid doctrine?
ii.     Does it touch the mind?
iii.     What will they know they did not know before?
iv.     Will their faith be challenged?

g. Will the sermon offer hope?

i.     Will it touch their lives?
ii.     Will the sermon awaken wonderment?
iii.     Is the preaching fresh and in a surprising way?
iv.     Does it underscore the victory of the Kingdom of grace in our moment of time?
v.     Does it tell them what is expected of them?

h. What kind of emotional response might the sermon evoke?

i.     Is it warm or cold?
ii.     Is there a sense of trust, courage, peace or guilt?
iii.     Does it convey trust, assurance, confidence and love?
iv.     Does it convey a sense of intimacy?
v.     Does it speak to their personal relationship with Jesus Christ?
vi.     Is it moving?

i. Is this an oral speech, a sermon? Or is it reading literacy? “Orality requires more use of illustrations, comparison, contrast and figurative language to stir the imagination and set up mental pictures in order for the listening ear to take in and process what is being heard.” (Wilbur Ellsworth)

j. If after people have listened to the sermon, will they come away anxious about themselves or reflecting on themselves? (D.M. Lloyd-Jones)

k. Does the sermon address the total person, so that the hearer becomes involved and knows that he has been dealt with and addressed by God through the preacher? (D.M. Lloyd-Jones)

l. Will this sermon humble the sinner?

i.     Will this sermon exalt the Savior?
ii.     Will this sermon promote holiness?
iii.     Does this sermon glorify God?

12. Other considerations:

a. Does this sermon have the three essentials of truth, clarity and passion? (Dr. G. Campbell Morgan)

b. Does the sermon do justice to and profitable for the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:20, 27)?

c. Be sure that in all the sermon, from Old Testament and from the New – Christ and His death and resurrection condition everything else that is said. (Jay Adams)

d. Is the sermon Spirit-guided? (Jer. 1:9, 17: 26:2)

e. Is the sermon faithful to God (“…let him who has my word speak my word faithfully” Jer. 23:16, 28; Ez. 13:2,3).

f. Does the sermon “disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed?” (Rev. Chad Walsh) or “break a hard heart and heal a broken heart?” (John Newton).

g. Does it add to God’s Word (like the Pharisees) or subtract from it (like the Sadducees)?

h. Is there exposition, application and exhortation in the sermon (ex: Deut. 31:30; 32:44; Deut. 1:5; 4:1; 5:1-21; 8:1; 10:12ff)?

i. Does the sermon aim for corporate edification, unity, maturity and growth (Eph. 4)?
“…the explanation and application of the Word to the congregation of Christ in order to produce corporate preparation for service, unity of faith, maturity, growth and upbuilding.” (Rev. Peter Adam; p. 83).

j. Is this sound preaching or sound doctrine? “To be sound is to be healthy; healthy doctrine is doctrine which is not only true but also productive of godliness. Sound doctrine is healthy teaching; that is, it changes people’s lives.” (Peter Adam, p. 84).

k. Will this sermon help people to understand and receive Jesus Christ and Him crucified?

l. Recall that preaching well is not the objective, but rather the means to the end.

m. Is it theologically weighty and also pastorally appropriate?

n. Is the sermon tied to literacy or orality? “…when a listener to a speech or sermon is compelled to take careful and copious notes to comprehend and retain what the speaker has said, the result, whether consciously or not, is to return communication from orality to literacy as quickly as possible.” (Wilbur Ellsworth)

o. Don’t make the mistake of preaching the Gospel and hardly anything else but the Gospel, nor preach the rest of the counsel of God as if it were unrelated to the Gospel (Jay Adams)

p. Don’t preach in a way that resembles the lecture format by which aspiring young theologs almost exclusively are trained in seminaries. It may be fine for theological halls (at times), but it is not fine for the pulpit – IT IS NOT PREACHING! (Jay Adams).

q. Be careful not to “inadvertently convey the impression that the key to understanding the mind of God is found in the acquisition of an arsenal of highly technical and scientific skills. Over time men may come to regard the scriptures the way a biology student regards his proverbial frog; as a thing to dissect, rather than a source from which to hear God’s voice.” (A. G. Azurdia III)

r. Has regard been given to the “three essential principles of apostolic ministry…: the message, method, and means for ministry ordained by Jesus Christ? The divine message? Jesus Christ. The divine method? Authoritative proclamation. The divine means? The power of the Spirit of God.” (A. G. Azurdia III)

s. Which style of preaching is this: Reformational or Puritanical?

i.     “For the Reformers, the whole sermon was application; what was added, attached, or folded in was done naturally, organically, as an integral part of the whole. From start to finish, as they interpreted the Scriptures for the congregation, at the same time, they preached what the text had to say about the people sitting before them. Application was made all along.
ii.     In contrast, the Puritans exposited the text…they tacked on at the end of the sermon various and sundry ‘uses’ or ‘improvements on the text’ by way of application.” (Jay Adams)
iii.     The form of the Puritan sermon would be Declaration, the Explanation, and the Application. The first two divisions were to convince the reason, while the last division was aimed at warming the heart’s affections into accepting the doctrine of the first division… The preacher’s aim should be first to convince the understanding and then to engage the heart. Light first, then heat.”  (R. Bruce Bickel)

t. What is the aim? “If the aim of Christian preaching is more than intellectual enlightenment and moral reformation, but is, instead, the thorough-going transformation of people dead in trespasses and sins, then Christian preachers must rest their dependence solely upon the Spirit of the living God because such a transformation requires a power of an altogether supernatural kind. Stated simply, the power of the Holy Spirit is the sine qua non of gospel preaching, the one thing without which nothing else matters.” (Azurdia III)

u. Is the sermon merely expounding the text or does it preach Jesus – a living person with a living voice? (Wilbur Ellsworth).

v. Is the sermon a dissected transcript of the Biblical text rearranged into a lawyer’s brief with propositional truths? If so, is this faithful to the Scripture? (Don Wardlaw)

i.     “If the text ‘makes its point’ in story form then we ought to seriously consider constructing a sermon that is faithful to the content and the form of the biblical text…” (D. Wardlaw)

ii.     “…the goal is to study carefully the form of the text and how it, in its literary context, plays its part in carrying the message to its intended effect with the hearers…the example of miracle stories which ‘were designed to evoke a wow! from listeners. The wise preacher will guess that a turgid apologetic for miracles or, worse, any rational explanation of miracles may scuttle the sense of wow and, therefore, be homiletically inappropriate. If a passage wants to provoke amazement, it would seem homiletically respectful to aim at the effect.” (David Buttrick)

w. Don’ts:

i.     Allegorize – searching beneath the literal meaning of a passage for the ‘real’ meaning.
ii.     Spiritualize – discarding the earthly, physical, historical reality the text speaks about and crosses the gap with a spiritual analogy of that historical reality.
iii.     Imitating – seeing biblical figures as merely individuals whose qualities we are to shun or mimic. It “tends to transform the biblical author’s description into prescription for today.” (S. Greidanus)
iv.     Moralize – “…means drawing moral inferences, usually things to do or become.” (Keck)
v.     Apply “[u]nless you are convinced that it is the intention of the Scripture that it be applied in a certain way, no suggestion as to application can be confidently advanced.” (Douglas Stuart)

13. Personal considerations

a. Do I through this sermon serve God in Christ and the people well?

b. Is there humility, recognizing that in myself I am unable to speak for God? (Ex. 4:10ff)

c. Am I serving biblically?

d. “The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens, wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.” (Isa. 50:4)

e. Am I aware that it is God who makes me competent and sufficient to the task (2 Cor. 2:16; 3:5-6; 4:7)

f. Do I recall that I am powerless and that it is the Spirit and the Word that is effective?

g. Is the sermon preached from the heart to hearts?

h. Am I preaching this sermon as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men? (Richard Baxter)

i. Remember that “every passion in the preacher does not constitute unction. While it does not expel intellectual activity, authority, and will, it superfuses these elements of force with the love, the pity, the tenderness, the pure zeal, the seriousness, which the topics of redemption should shed upon the soul of a ransomed and sanctified sinner.” (Dabney)